Wednesday June 16, 2021
Sponsors at the European Football Championship
Who or what is Alipay?
By Holger Preiss
Perimeter advertising has been part of the European Football Championship like your own ball for decades. But now, alongside long-established manufacturers, names appear that can hardly be assigned. For example, who are Alipay or Hisense?
It should come as no surprise that a major sporting event like the European Football Championship, which is currently underway, cannot do without sponsors. But while names like booking.com or FedEx are familiar to most, many are amazed at Alipay or Hisense. Both companies are from China. While Alipay is a payment platform, Hisense is a Chinese electronics company that was founded back in 1969. The state-owned company is now producing for Japanese companies Sharp and Toshiba televisions.
Alipay has to be imagined like the PayPal payment platform, which is very popular with us. Just like the Americans, the Chinese offer a digital wallet, where users can make payments by scanning a QR code. Worldwide seen as part of the trading and communication platform Alibaba, Alipay is the most widely used third-party provider of online payments. The company records more than 100 million transactions per day and currently has over 520 million active users. In total, Alipay is available in more than 70 markets and is now used by more than 80,000 retail companies around the world.
Soccer is growing in popularity in China
But why is a Chinese electronics company and a payment service from the Middle Kingdom interested in a sporting event in Europe? Alipay’s partnership with UEFA is set to run for eight years and costs more than 200 million euros. The Chinese answer is simple. Soccer is becoming more and more popular in China. Especially when it is held where it comes from. In this respect, the advertising by Alipay and Hisense is actually not designed for the European market, but is aimed directly at viewers in China.
VW develops into the largest football sponsor.
(Photo: dpa)
If you look at it closely, Volkswagen is the only European company as the main sponsor to take part in the European Football Championship. And the calculation of the Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer should work in two respects in view of the massive Chinese participation. After all, VW also sells most of its vehicles in China. The deal to join the European Championship as a football sponsor had already been made in Wolfsburg in 2018. Then the German car maker replaced Hyundai-Kia, which had been a UEFA sponsor since 2000. The deal ends up spanning more than 500 games. Among other things, those of the current European Championship, the completed U21 European Championship and the finals of the newly created UEFA Nations League. Incidentally, VW had previously dethroned Mercedes-Benz as the main sponsor of the German national soccer team.
to eat and drink
In addition to the five main sponsors, there are others, let’s call them secondary sponsors, whose names can also appear on the side gangs or on television broadcasts. This includes, for example, Takeaway.com. The company originally operated under the name Citymeal since 1999, but then changed its name to Just Eat Takeaway. The catering delivery service, headquartered in Amsterdam, is now on the road in twelve European countries. Including in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and France. Takeaway currently has 16.7 million customers. Through sponsorship from UEFA, the company wants to expand its reach and further consolidate the brand name in Europe.
The beer on the edge of the soccer field has been from Heineken for 25 years.
(Photo: dpa)
Of course, there are also UEFA’s very old advertising partners. Take Coca-Cola, for example. The US manufacturer of non-alcoholic beverages has been around for 33 years. Another old friend is the Dutch brewery Heineken. The partnership with UEFA has existed for over 25 years. It is doubtful whether their calculations will work out for this EM, which has been shaken by Corona. Because the contract with UEFA actually includes the exclusive licensing rights for the stadiums, fan zones and “fan villages” during the tournament. Since the number of beer-thirsty football fans in these places is rather limited, Heineken will probably pay more this year. What remains is the presence of the advertising boards, the presentation of the game and the rights in connection with the public broadcast of the matches, which are increasingly happening again.
It remains to be seen whether the sponsors will be able to toast at the end of the European Football Championship. Nevertheless, we say: cheers and good luck.
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